Daniela Velez

Prof. Swafford

ENG 493-02

19 October 2015

Mr. & Mrs. Norton on Edgware Road

            In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “A Scandal in Bohemia,” detective Sherlock Holmes is bested by none other than Irene Adler, also referred to as ‘The Woman.’ Towards the end of the tale, Mr. Holmes finds himself swept up in Irene’s shotgun wedding to Mr. Godfrey Norton at the Church of Saint Monica, and becomes a key witness to the legality of their vows due to his ‘lucky appearance’ (9).

Edgware road was difficult to locate on Victorian Google Maps all that my search result turned up was an image of Edgware Road Station, which is obviously on Edgware Road though the actual name of the street itself does not appear. However, the road does appear on the Charles Booth Online Archive. A majority of the area appears to be middle class/ well to do. This adds to the overall theme of the story, which alludes to class distinctions in not only Victorian London, but the modern world at the time – hence, the prestigious King of Bohemia’s affair with Alder that must be kept hidden even though it occurred years earlier.

A quick but narrowed search (the years 1881-1901 because that is when Sherlock & Dr. Watson’s adventures on Baker Street took place according to the stories)through the Proceedings of the Old Bailey produced a vibrant array of offenses from coining offenses to murder associated with Edgware Road. The Charles Booth Archive image did show some areas of blue which represents (Lower Class/Poor residents) and little areas of yellow (Upper Class). I believe that the variety of crimes and the sheer number of them could indicate a clash of classes due to wealth inequality, but that is only speculation.